Date: May 4, 2026, 10:56 AM ET
From: Senior Assistant General Counsel John J. Shiptenko (ADA Coordinator)
To: The complainant
To / Cc: (none)
Subject: ADA accommodation Follow-up
Transcript (redacted):
> Good morning,
>
> Please notify me directly of any disability-related accommodations you may need to effectively participate in the grievance against [the respondent attorney] and the reconsideration. The State Bar wants to ensure that you have the same rights and opportunities as non-disabled grievants. I look forward to engaging with you regarding your requests for ADA reasonable accommodations. If you feel comfortable providing me with a description of your disability, please do so. Having that information may help us efficiently engage in an interactive process as we consider and implement accommodations. The State Bar will not take any adverse action against you because you request ADA accommodations.
>
> If you have requests or inquiries that are not related to ADA reasonable accommodations but are more procedural in nature, please direct them to the individual assigned to review your reconsideration and other issues related to [the respondent attorney]. The OGC has appointed Ms. Adrienne Nash to serve in that role. Her contact information is AdrienneN@gabar.org and Office of the General Counsel, 104 Marietta Street, NW, Suite 100, Atlanta, Georgia 30303. You can provide all evidence, documents, and other forms of information (materials) related to [the respondent attorney] to Ms. Nash. If you have questions about (1) how to submit specific materials, (2) how best to provide supporting statements, (3) grievance or reconsideration protocols, (4) Response@gabar.org, or (5) historical information, please contact Ms. Nash. She has received the document you named – Letter_2_OGC_ADA_Accommodation_FINAL. Just so you know, Ms. Burgess may be in touch soon to help clarify some of your procedural questions.
>
> As an ADA Coordinator, I’m not involved in reviewing the documents related to your grievance or the reconsideration. Please do not provide me with your responses or other information you will submit to the Office of the General Counsel (OGC) in support of your grievance against [the respondent attorney] or the reconsideration.
>
> The OGC is granting the following ADA accommodations requested by you:
>
> Written-only accommodation. All OGC communications with you regarding this matter will be in writing because of your disability-related communication limitations. No telephone-only communications.
>
> Accessible electronic format. Plain text or accessible PDF, not scanned image-only PDF. However, please understand, if a document is currently in our system that is only in the form of a scanned image-only PDF, OGC will have to provide that document to you as a scanned image-only PDF. If OGC receives a scanned image-only PDF from an outside source, it can only provide that document to you as a scanned image-only PDF. Otherwise, any document the OGC creates and provides to you will not be a scanned image-only PDF. If OGC receives a plain text/accessible PDF or Word document from an outside source, it will provide that document to you as a hard copy and/or, if sending you an email, OGC won’t email you a scanned image-only PDF version of that document.
>
> Additionally, as a reasonable accommodation, if requested by you, the OGC will postpone the review of your reconsideration request until after your hand surgery and whatever time you need for post-surgery recovery. That will allow you more time to organize, prepare, and submit additional materials. If you wish to make such a request, please provide it to me with a date when Ms. Nash can resume her review of the reconsideration.
>
> I have notified Ms. Nash, Ms. Burgess, Mr. Willard, and Ms. Morrison that the OGC must grant and comply with the above-referenced accommodations requests.
>
> Thank you.
>
> JOHN J. SHIPTENKO // Senior Assistant General Counsel
> 104 Marietta St. NW, Suite 100 | Atlanta, GA 30303
> T: 404-527-8720 | F: 404-527-8744 | johns@gabar.org
What this shows: The Bar’s ADA Coordinator granted two accommodations in writing, stated the Bar “wants to ensure that you have the same rights and opportunities as non-disabled grievants,” and said it “will not take any adverse action against you because you request ADA accommodations.”